Esther Margaret (Funk) Presser, passed away quietly in the early morning hours of Friday, May 17, 2013 at the Faith Lutheran Home in Wolf Point where she had been a resident for the past 13 years. She was a month and a half past her 94 th birthday.
Esther was born March 3, 1919, the 3 rd child of Ferdinand J. and Agatha Peters Funk. She was born at home on the family farm near Hyrdo, Montana, a rural area near the Canadian border north of Chinook, Montana. Making a living on the homestead was difficult so the family moved across country by wagon to farm near Larslan, which is north and east of Nashua, Montana. Crops were good for several years and then came drought and the Great Depression. Esther longed to go to high school so the family planted a large vegetable garden and supplied the dormitory at Opheim High School so Esther could stay and attended school there.
When the farm dried out the family moved to Glasgow, Montana where Esther began her sophomore year at Glasgow High the fall of 1933. Shortly after that, the Fort Peck Dam project started and the family moved to New Deal, a shanty town near Fort Peck. Esther continued going to Glasgow High School and graduated the spring of 1936. In the summer of 1936, Esther was working at Bierwagons Grocery in Valley (another shanty town near Fort Peck). It was there she first met a young, dark haired fellow by the name of Frank Presser, who was employed on the huge Fort Peck project. Esther and Frank were married on February 12, 1938 in the little Lutheran Church that used to stand just across the street from the Fort Peck Theatre.
The newly married couple lived in Park Grove until the Fort Peck project was completed. Then it was off to a farm in the Presserville/Vida area, back to Fort Peck, and then to Glendive, Montana. In 1946, Esther and Frank moved back to Presserville and lived there for 12 years. It was in 1957, that Esther was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and doctors gave her only a few years to live. However, Esther was a fighter and began the life long battle with the disease as she studied everything she could find about MS until she knew more than most doctors.
In 1958, Esther and Frank built a new home in Wolf Point at 520 Fallon Street. While there, Esther was very involved with Scouts as well as her church. She served as Church Librarian for about 10 years. In 1973, Esther and Frank purchased the historic Bigfork Inn, in Bigfork, Montana and operated the business for almost 2 years. When they decided they couldn’t stand the cloudy and gloomy winters at Bigfork, they moved back to Wolf Point and resided at 320 Dawson Street until failing health necessitated a move by Esther to the Faith Lutheran Home in Wolf Point. Frank died on August 11, 2007. They were married nearly 70 years.
Esther was preceded in death by her husband; parents, Ferd and Agatha; siblings, Adam, Edward, Elsie, and Violet; daughters, Joyce (August 12, 1956) and Cheryl (May 3, 1963) and her son, Franklin “Frankie” (February 5, 2009). Esther grieved deeply over the loss of her two beautiful daughters and seldom a day went by she didn’t speak of them, until Dementia took over a keen and intelligent mind a few years ago.
Esther is survived by her sons, Marvin (Kay) Presser of Wolf Point, Eugene Presser of Dayton, Montana, and Lyle (Marilyn) Presser of Greely, Colorado; two younger sisters, Elizabeth “Betty” Brandt of Glasgow and Delsie Brooks of Kalispell, Montana; and numerous nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
A family memorial graveside service will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 22 at the Greenwood Cemetery in Wolf Point. Esther will be buried near her husband, Frank, her two beloved daughters, Joyce and Cheryl, and son, Frankie. Esther was a devout Christian and we know she has joined her loved ones in Heaven. Her mind is sharp again and the MS is gone, as she dances around her new, glorious home.
For those who wish to give memorials, the family suggests the Faith Lutheran Home Foundation, Inc., 1000 6 th Ave North, Wolf Point, Montana 59201. The family is extremely grateful for the wonderful, loving care given to Esther (and Frank) by the staff at the Faith Home. They are outstanding!
Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel of Wolf Point has been entrusted with the arrangements. Condolences can be sent using the form below.